Comparison of microbial community between two shallow freshwater lakes in middle Yangtze basin, East China

In order to investigate the role of the microbial community in aquatic ecology and nutrient transformations in the development of eutrophication in large shallow freshwater lakes along Yangtze River, the microbial community in the depth-related sediment in Lake Chaohu and Lake Longganhu were compared. Lake Chaohu is one of the three most polluted lakes in China. However, the neighboring Lake Longganhu, a mesotrophic lake, is relatively pristine. The total phosphorous (TP) and total nitrogen (TN) concentration in water was detected at 0.193 mgl(-1) and 3.035 mgl(-1) for Lake Chaohu, 0.051 mgl(-1) and 0.774 mgl(-1) for Lake Longganhu, respectively. The population of the microorganisms with various ecological nutrient transforming functions (e.g. phosphate solubilizing, denitrifying and cellulose decomposing) and a batch of environmental parameters concerning the nutrient accumulating and transforming (e.g. total organic carbon, total nitrogen, and total phosphorous concentrations) were assayed in the depth-related sediment samples from several defined points in both lakes. The sediment samples from Lake Chaohu showed higher density of actinomycetes (P<0.05) and phosphate-solubilizing bacteria (P<0.001) and less profusion of denitrifying bacteria (P<0.05) and cellulolytic microbes (P<0.001), compared with those of Lake Longganhu. The data suggested that the current microbial community in the sediment of Lake Chaohu is in favor of sustaining or further accelerating the process of the lake eutrophication. A possible positive feedback loop which consists of sustained growth of microorganisms and gradual decline of lake eutrophic status is worth further discussing.     

Influence of trophic status on PCB distribution in lake sediments and biota

We investigated the relationship between trophic status and polychlorinated biphenyl (PCB) distribution in 19 Swedish lakes. We analyzed PCB in water, phytoplankton, zooplankton, fish and sediment during two sampling periods, in spring and summer. The mass of sigma PCB in the lake sediments was positively related to lake trophy, i.e. more PCBs were accumulated and buried in the sediment of eutrophic lakes than in oligotrophic lakes. In the oligotrophic lakes a greater fraction of the total PCB load was dissolved in water. We conclude that this is a result of higher sedimentation rates in eutrophic lakes and relatively lower turnover of organic carbon in the water column of the shallow, eutrophic lakes. In the stratified lakes, the amount of PCB per cubic meter in the epilimnion decreased from spring to summer. We suggest that sedimentation of plankton beneath the thermocline during stratification act as a sink process of PCBs from the epilimnion.     

Dynamics of the water bloom-forming <Emphasis Type="Italic">Microcystis</Emphasis> and its relationship with physicochemical factors in Lake Xuanwu (China)

Purpose  

China’s freshwater subtropical shallow lakes are increasingly eutrophic and susceptible to production of heavy growths or water blooms of cyanobacteria. One example was the heavy water bloom that occurred for the first time in Lake Xuanwu, in 2005, an urban lake located in Nanjing city. The aim of the present study was to determine dynamics of water bloom dominating Microcystis in this lake. Meanwhile, the relationship between environmental factors and Microcystis populations was also analyzed.     

Complex interactions between autotrophs in shallow marine and freshwater ecosystems: implications for community responses to nutrient stress

The relative biomass of autotrophs (vascular plants, macroalgae, microphytobenthos, phytoplankton) in shallow aquatic ecosystems is thought to be controlled by nutrient inputs and underwater irradiance. Widely accepted conceptual models indicate that this is the case both in marine and freshwater systems. In this paper we examine four case studies and test whether these models generally apply. We also identify other complex interactions among the autotrophs that may influence ecosystem response to cultural eutrophication. The marine case studies focus on macroalgae and its interactions with sediments and vascular plants. The freshwater case studies focus on interactions between phytoplankton, epiphyton, and benthic microalgae. In Waquoit Bay, MA (estuary), controlled experiments documented that blooms of macroalgae were responsible for the loss of eelgrass beds at nutrient-enriched locations. Macroalgae covered eelgrass and reduced irradiance to the extent that the plants could not maintain net growth. In Hog Island Bay, VA (estuary), a dense lawn of macroalgae covered the bottom sediments. There was reduced sediment-water nitrogen exchange when the algae were actively growing and high nitrogen release during algal senescence. In Lakes Brobo (West Africa) and Okeechobee (FL), there were dramatic seasonal changes in the biomass and phosphorus content of planktonic versus attached algae, and these changes were coupled with changes in water level and abiotic turbidity. Deeper water and/or greater turbidity favored dominance by phytoplankton. In Lake Brobo there also was evidence that phytoplankton growth was stimulated following a die-off of vascular plants. The case studies from Waquoit Bay and Lake Okeechobee support conceptual models of succession from vascular plants to benthic algae to phytoplankton along gradients of increasing nutrients and decreasing under-water irradiance. The case studies from Hog Island Bay and Lake Brobo illustrate additional effects (modified sediment-water nutrient fluxes, allelopathy or nutrient release during plant senescence) that could play a role in ecosystem response to nutrient stress.     

Modelling the dynamic air-water-sediment coupled fluxes and occurrence of polychlorinated biphenyls in a high altitude lake

The BIODEP model in terms of atmosphere-lake interactions was developed. The model was applied to an oligotrophic, dimictic high altitude lake (Lake Redo, Pyrenees) for a range of polychlorinated biphenyl (PCB) congeners. High altitude lakes, which receive their contaminant inputs uniquely from the atmosphere through long-range atmospheric transport, provide ideal controlled environments for the study of the interactions between atmospheric depositional and water column biogeochemical processes. The BIODEP model was able to predict dissolved water concentrations and PCB accumulation in the lake sediment within a factor of 2. This shows that the BIODEP model captures the essential processes driving the sink of POPs in high altitude lakes and that POP occurrence in the lake is driven by direct atmospheric inputs with limited influence from the watershed. An important seasonal variability in water column concentrations is predicted which should have important implications in sampling strategies. Furthermore, it is shown that diffusive air-water exchange dominated the PCB dynamics in the lake, especially for the less chlorinated biphenyls.     

Large-scale utilization of water hyacinth for nutrient removal in Lake Dianchi in China: The effects on the water quality, macrozoobenthos and zooplankton

An ecological engineering project using water hyacinth for nutrient removal was performed in Baishan Bay of a large shallow eutrophic lake, Lake Dianchi in China. In the present study, a systematic survey of water quality, macrozoobenthos and zooplankton inside (IWH), around (AWH) and far away (FWH) water hyacinth mats was conducted in Baishan Bay from August to October 2010. The results showed that the water quality significantly improved at AWH area. Concentrations of nitrogen and phosphorus were lower and transparency was higher at AWH area than those in IWH and FWH areas. Total densities, dominant species densities, and biodiversity indexes of macrozoobenthos and cladocerans as well as copepods did not differ (P > 0.05) among each other in all three areas. It was significantly (P < 0.05) different for those of rotifers at IWH area compared to those in AWH and FWH areas. The results might suggest a tremendous potential for the utilization of water hyacinth in the eutrophic lake like Lake Dianchi for nutrients removal.     

Seasonal fluxes and temperature-dependent accumulation of persistent organic pollutants in lakes: The role of internal biogeochemical cycling

A dynamic flux model for lakes taking into account the interactions between atmospheric depositional and biogeochemical processes (BIODEP model) was used to assess the importance of internal cycling and biogeochemical processes with respect to accumulation of four different polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) (congeners 28, 52, 101 and 153) in Lake Redo, a high-altitude lake in the Spanish Pyrenees. To investigate the effect of temperature on sediment accumulation, the model was run at different temperatures and corresponding sediment inventories were plotted vs. reciprocal temperature. In line with measurements from a previous study looking at sediment inventories of 19 European high-altitude lakes (MOLAR study), we found a stronger temperature dependence of lake sediment concentrations for the less volatile/less soluble PCBs. Seasonal and annual mass balances were investigated and highlighted the importance of internal lake processes controlling the differences in sediment accumulation for the different PCB congeners. For example, the higher temperature dependence of sediment inventories for the high chlorinated congeners is due to the fast dynamics of water-to-sediment transport in comparison to atmospheric deposition processes.     

Mercury cycling and species mass balances in four North American lakes

A mass balance model for mercury based on the fugacity concept is applied to Lake Superior, Lake Michigan, Onondaga Lake and Little Rock Lake to evaluate model performance, analyze cycling of three mercury species groups (elemental, divalent and methyl mercury), and identify important processes that determine the source-to-concentration relationship of the three mercury species groups in these lakes. This model application to four disparate ecosystems is an extension of previous applications of fugacity-based models describing mercury cycling. The model performs satisfactorily following site-specific parameterization, and provides an estimate of minimum rates of species interconversion that compare well with literature. Volatilization and sediment burial are the main processes removing mercury from the lakes, and uncertainty analyses indicate that air-water exchange of elemental mercury and water-sediment exchange of divalent mercury attached to particles are influential in governing mercury concentrations in water. Any new model application or field campaign to quantify mercury cycling in a lake should consider these processes as important.     

Carbon source/sink function of a subtropical, eutrophic lake determined from an overall mass balance and a gas exchange and carbon burial balance

Although studies on carbon burial in lake sediments have shown that lakes are disproportionately important carbon sinks, many studies on gaseous carbon exchange across the water-air interface have demonstrated that lakes are supersaturated with CO(2) and CH(4) causing a net release of CO(2) and CH(4) to the atmosphere. In order to more accurately estimate the net carbon source/sink function of lake ecosystems, a more comprehensive carbon budget is needed, especially for gaseous carbon exchange across the water-air interface. Using two methods, overall mass balance and gas exchange and carbon burial balance, we assessed the carbon source/sink function of Lake Donghu, a subtropical, eutrophic lake, from April 2003 to March 2004. With the overall mass balance calculations, total carbon input was 14 905 t, total carbon output was 4950 t, and net carbon budget was +9955 t, suggesting that Lake Donghu was a great carbon sink. For the gas exchange and carbon burial balance, gaseous carbon (CO(2) and CH(4)) emission across the water-air interface totaled 752 t while carbon burial in the lake sediment was 9477 t. The ratio of carbon emission into the atmosphere to carbon burial into the sediment was only 0.08. This low ratio indicates that Lake Donghu is a great carbon sink. Results showed good agreement between the two methods with both showing Lake Donghu to be a great carbon sink. This results from the high primary production of Lake Donghu, substantive allochthonous carbon inputs and intensive anthropogenic activity. Gaseous carbon emission accounted for about 15% of the total carbon output, indicating that the total output would be underestimated without including gaseous carbon exchange.     

Phosphorus fractionation in volcanic lake sediments (Azores - Portugal)

The phosphorus distribution in volcanic sediments of three lakes that are under different anthropogenic pressures in S?o Miguel island (Azores - Portugal) was evaluated using a sequential extraction scheme. The P-fractionation scheme employs sequential extractions of sediment with NH4Cl, bicarbonate-dithionite (BD), NaOH (at room temperature), HCl and NaOH (at 85 degrees C) to obtain five P-fractions. The P-fractionation shows that in lakes with higher trophic status (Lake Furnas and Lake Sete Cidades), the NaOH extracted P is the dominant fraction, that contribute with more than 50% to total sedimentary phosphorus. The rank order of P-fractionation for these two lakes was NaOH>NaOH (85 degrees C)>HCl>BD>NH4Cl for Furnas lake and NaOH>HCl>NaOH (85 degrees C)>NH4Cl>BD for Sete Cidades lake. On the other hand, the trend of P contribution in the oligotrophic lake Fogo shows that the most inert P pools have the higher concentrations, with more than 50% of the P contribution from the last extraction step with NaOH at 85 degrees C. For this lake, the rank order of P-fractionation was NH4Cl>BD>NaOH>HCl>NaOH (85 degrees C). The Phosphorus Maximum Solubilization Potential (P-MSP) was also calculated and the results show that for the more bio-available P-fractions (first and second extraction step), the P-MSP values for Furnas and Sete Cidades lakes are sensibly higher than the results obtained in Fogo lake, an indication of the non-point diffuse load discharged in the first ones.     

Factors affecting population fluctuations of the glacial relict amphipod Monoporeia affinis (Lindström) in Sweden's largest lakes

Factors affecting long-term (1982-2000) population densities of the glacial relict amphipod Monoporeia affinis were studied in Sweden's three largest lakes. Monoporeia showed large population fluctuations in all three lakes, with conspicuous peaks in density occurring in Lakes V?nern and M?laren. In Lake V?nern, amphipod densities showed highly significant relationships with spring maximum diatom biovolume at a 1-yr lag. The lack of relationship between diatom biovolumes and Monoporeia densities in L. V?ttern is likely due to the larger depth and the lower nutrient content of this lake. In eutrophic L. M?laren, summer hypoxia (< 4 mg O2 L-1) is likely an important regulating factor. Hypolimnetic temperature showed a clear periodicity with relatively warm deep water occurring between 1989 and 1994. Hypolimnetic temperatures in V?nern and V?ttern were correlated with total solar irradiance. However, neither hypolimnetic water temperature nor diatom biovolumes correlated with the North Atlantic Oscillation winter index. We speculate that variations in temperature and near-bottom oxygen concentrations negatively affect population densities by acting on recruitment success (reproduction) and juvenile (young-of-the-year) survival.     

Patterns and sources of polychlorinated dibenzo-p-dioxins and polychlorinated dibenzofurans in surficial sediments of Lakes Erie and Ontario

This study determines spatial trends and congener patterns of 2378-substituted polychlorinated dibenzo-p-dioxins (PCDDs) and polychlorinated dibenzofurans (PCDFs) in surficial sediments of Lakes Erie and Ontario. Sediments are enriched in 2378-PCDFs in Lake Ontario, and the PCDD/F concentrations increased from shallow near-shore sediments towards deep-water depositional zone sediments. In Lake Erie, sediments were dominated by octachlorodibenzo-p-dioxin, and the highest PCDD/F concentrations were observed in the western basin and the southern shoreline of the central basin with a decrease towards the eastern basin and the northern shoreline of the central basin. Principal components analysis revealed that chemical manufacture and disposal of chemical waste along the Niagara River has been a major PCDD/F source to Lake Ontario; while PCDD/Fs in Lake Erie are from multiple sources including industrial sources along the Detroit River, major tributaries along the southern shoreline of the lake, and atmospherically-derived material from the upper lakes and connecting channels.     

城市浅水型湖泊底泥污染物释放过程模拟试验研究

通过对城市浅水型湖泊(以宁波东钱湖为例)疏浚后上层底泥污染物释放过程模拟试验研究,分析了环境因子对底泥污染物释放特性的影响及其原因,得出了上覆水营养盐水平、水温和扰动对底泥污染物释放的影响曲线.同时,说明了湖泊内源性有机污染源对湖泊水质存在着潜在的危险性,提出了疏浚施工期间的规避措施,为城市浅水型湖泊底泥疏浚和富营养化治理提供依据.     

Pentachlorophenol (PCP), PCDD,PCDF and pesticide concentrations in a freshwater lake catchment

The concentrations of pentachlorophenol (PCP), polychlorinated dibenzo-p-dioxins (PCDDs) polychlorinated dibensofurans (PCDFs) and organochlorine and organophosphorus pesticides in water, sediments and biota from the Lake Rotorua catchment were determined to evaluate the relative significance of various contaminants and their potential sources. PCP was found in water, sediments and biota (fish and freshwater mussels) and the highest concentrations in water (3.62 μ g.L⁻¹) and in sediments (400 ng.g⁻¹ dry weight (DW) were found in and near a stream that had been affected by PCP contamination from a sawmill. PCDD and PCDF concentrations in all cases, except for the waters and sediments of the stream near to the sawmill, were relatively low compared to values reported in the literature for similar sites. Negligible pesticide contamination was found in the Lake Rotorua catchment. Pesticides found included low concentrations of p.p′-DDE, p.p-TDE and dieldrin in rainbow trout from the lake.     

改进的TLI指数法及其在巢湖营养状态评价中的应用

对巢湖2000—2008年的监测数据运用SPSS做统计分析,得出叶绿素a与总氮、总磷和透明度的相关系数。通过得出的权重结果,分析出与26个湖泊的差异性,构建了改进的综合营养状态指数(TLI)评价方法,并提出评价的4个步骤。以巢湖为例,运用该方法对湖泊的营养状态进行评价,且对巢湖的富营养化程度做了年际和年内变化的综合评价,评价结果显示各营养物指标的相关关系在近30年有了较大变化,巢湖的富营养化现象已日益严重,已从轻度富营养化状态转变为中度富营养化状态。     

Influence of algal bloom degradation on nutrient release at the sediment–water interface in Lake Taihu, China

Algal bloom could drastically influence the nutrient cycling in lakes. To understand how the internal nutrient release responds to algal bloom decay, water and sediment columns were sampled at 22 sites from four distinct regions of China’s eutrophic Lake Taihu and incubated in the laboratory to examine the influence of massive algal bloom decay on nutrient release from sediment. The column experiment involved three treatments: (1) water and sediment (WS); (2) water and algal bloom (WA); and (3) water, sediment, and algal bloom (WSA). Concentrations of dissolved oxygen (DO), total nitrogen (TN), total phosphorus (TP), ammonium (NH ₄ ⁺ -N), and orthophosphate (PO ₄ ^3? -P) were recorded during incubation. The decay of algal material caused a more rapid decrease in DO than in the algae-free controls and led to significant increases in NH ₄ ⁺ -N and PO ₄ ^3? -P in the water. The presence of algae during the incubation had a regionally variable effect on sediment nutrient profiles. In the absence of decaying algae (treatment WS), sediment nutrient concentrations decreased during the incubation. In the presence of blooms (WSA), sediments from the river mouth released P to the overlying water, while sediments from other regions absorbed surplus P from the water. This experiment showed that large-scale algal decay will dramatically affect nutrient cycling at the sediment–water interface and would potentially transfer the function of sediment as “container” or “supplier” in Taihu, although oxygen exchange with atmosphere in lake water was stronger than in columns. The magnitude of the effect depends on the physical–chemical character of the sediments.     

Radium-226 in water, sediments, and fish from lakes near the city of Elliot Lake, Ontario, Canada

Ra-226 was measured by alpha-emission spectroscopy in water, sediments, and fish (tissues and gut contents), from five lakes in a watershed containing U mining and milling operations at Elliot Lake, Ontario, and from control lakes in an adjacent non-industrialized watershed. Ra-226 transfer parameters from lake water and sediments to fish tissues, and annual intakes by humans consuming fish, were estimated. Mean dissolved 226Ra levels ranged from approximately 76 mBq litre(-1) in water of the most affected lake, to < 10 mBq litre(-1) in control lakes. Levels in summer were consistently higher than in fall or winter; no consistent variation with depth was noted. Sediment levels ranged from approximately 3000 mBq g(-1) dry wt in one study lake to < 100 mBq g(-1) dry wt of sediment in control lakes. Bone 226Ra concentrations were higher than in muscle. The lake trout (Salvelinus namaycush), a predatory secondary consumer, had bone 226Ra levels (< 20 mBq g(-1) dry wt) that did not show significant site variation. In contrast, bottom feeding whitefish had significantly more 226Ra in bone tissue (to 38 mBq g(-1) dry wt in the lake whitefish, Coregonus clupeaformis, and 76 mBq g(-1) in round whitefish, Prosopium cylindraceum) in study lakes than in controls (< 20 mBq g(-1) dry wt). Ra-226 levels in lake trout muscle were low and showed erratic variation among lakes whereas levels in whitefish muscle did not vary significantly among study and control sites. Lake herring (= cisco, Coregonus artedii), a planktivorous fish taken only from Quirke Lake, had mean 226Ra levels of 18 and 1.4 mBq g(-1) dry wt in bone and muscle, respectively. Gut 226Ra levels, highest in lake trout from McCabe and Quirke Lakes (126 +/- 53, 64 +/- 44 mBq g(-1) dry wt, respectively), and just detectable in McCabe and Elliot Lake whitefish (24 +/- 2, 36 +/- 14 mBq g(-1) dry wt, respectively), were below detection in lake trout and whitefish from other lakes. Concentration ratios (CRs) of 226Ra from water to muscle ranged from 8 to 14 in lake trout, 7 to 14 in whitefish, and 4 to 6 in lake herring. The water to bone CRs varied from 81 to 142, 314 to 548, and 126 to 272 in the same species. CRs were always < 1 between sediments and fish tissues. Annual intake of 226Ra by human consumers of these fish was estimated to provide an effective dose of 0.003 mSv year(-1). This represents a small fraction of both natural background (> 2 mSv year(-1)) and the public dose limit (5 mSv year(-1)).     

Spatio-temporal distribution of organic and inorganic pollutants from Lake Geneva (Switzerland) reveals strong interacting effects of sewage treatment plant and eutrophication on microbial abundance

Variation with depth and time of organic matter (carbon, nitrogen, phosphorus), inorganic pollutant (mercury), as well as bacterial abundance and activity, were investigated for the first time in sediment profiles of different parts of Lake Geneva (Switzerland) over the last decades. The highest organic contents (about 32%), mercury concentration (27 mg kg⁻¹), bacterial abundance (in order of 9 × 10⁹ cell g⁻¹ dry sediment), and bacterial activity (1299 Relative Light Units (RLU)) were found in the highly polluted sediments contaminated by the waste water treatment plant (WWTP) discharge, which deposited during the period of cultural eutrophication. Such data, which contrast with the other sampled sites from deeper and more remote parts of the lake, prove that the organic matter and nutrients released from the municipal WWTP have considerable effects on bacterial abundance and activities in freshwater sediments. In fact, the relatively unpolluted deepwater sites and the coastal polluted site show large synchronous increases in bacterial densities linked to the anoxic conditions in the 1970s (lake eutrophication caused by external nutrient input) that subsequently increased the nutrient loading fluxes. These results show that the microbial activities response to natural or human-induced changing limnological conditions (e.g., nutrient supply, oxygen availability, redox conditions) constitutes a threat to the security of water resources, which in turn poses concerns for the world’s freshwater resources in the context of global warming and the degradation of water quality (oxygen depletion in the bottom water due to reduced deep waters mixing). Moreover, the accumulation of inorganic pollutants such as high mercury (methyl-mercury) concentration may represent a significant source of toxicity for sediment dwelling organisms.     

Evaluation of phosphorus bioavailability in sediments of three contrasting lakes in China and the UK

The bioavailability of phosphorus (P) in sediments from West Lake and Lake Tai (China) and Lough Erne (Northern Ireland) was evaluated using total P (TP), water soluble P (WSP), readily desorbable P (RDP), algal available P (AAP) and Olsen-P. The results indicated that the TP content, the amounts of phosphorus extracted by each method and their proportions to TP varied widely between sediments of the three lakes. TP and chemical extractable phosphorus in the sediments of Lough Erne were considerably higher than those of the two lakes in China. Although TP in the West Lake sediments was similar to that of Lake Tai, the extractable phosphorus data suggested that the bioavailability of P in West Lake sediments was higher than that in sediments from Lake Tai. Nevertheless, the rank order of extraction efficiency was the same in all lakes and the amount extracted was in the sequence AAP > Olsen-P > WSP > RDP. There was a good correlation between extracted and TP in all the methods examined.     

Nutrient dynamics in shallow lakes of northern greece

GOAL, SCOPE, BACKGROUND: Shallow lakes display a number of features that set them apart from the more frequently studied deeper systems. The majority of lakes in Northern Greece are small to moderate in size with a relatively low depth and are considered as sites of high value of the wetland habitat. However, the water quality of these lakes has only been evaluated segmentally and occasionally. OBJECTIVE: The objectives of this study were to thoroughly investigate nitrogen and phosphorus speciation in lakes of a high ecological significance located in N. Greece, in order to evaluate their eutrophication status and possible nutrient limitation factors, and to investigate the main factors/sources that affect the water quality of these systems. METHODS: An extensive survey was carried out during the period from 1998-1999. Water samples were collected on a monthly basis from lakes Koronia, Volvi, Doirani, Mikri Prespa and Megali Prespa located in N. Greece. Water quality parameters (temperature, dissolved oxygen, pH and conductivity), organic indices (COD, BOD5), and N- and P-species (NO3(-), NO2(-), NH4(+), and PO4(3-), Kieldahl nitrogen and acid-hydrolysable phosphorus) were determined according to standard methods for surface water. Statistical treatment of the data was employed. RESULTS AND CONCLUSIONS: The physicochemical parameters determined in the lakes studied revealed a high temporal variation. The trophic state of the lakes ranged from meso- to hypertrophic. The nutrient limiting factor varied among lakes suggesting either P-limitation conditions or mixed conditions changing from P- to N-limitation throughout the year. Urban/industrial activities and agricultural runoff are the major factors affecting all lakes, although with a varying contribution. RECOMMENDATION AND OUTLOOK: This lake-specific research offers valuable information about water quality and nutrient dynamics in lakes of significant ecological value located in N. Greece that can be useful for an effective pollution control/management of these systems. Due to the large intra-annual variability of certain physicochemical parameters, a properly designed monitoring program of lake water is recommended.